1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to instructional aids, and in particular, to an apparatus and method that assists in the teaching of spinal, epidural (loss of resistance technique), and combined spinal epidural (C.S.E.) anesthesia administration.
2. Description of the Related Art
Learning regional anesthesia administration is typically more difficult than learning general anesthesia administration. The student is often anxious and fearful about performing the procedure, and the teacher is often reluctant and hesitant to allow the student to perform the procedure. There is a tendency on the part of the teacher to take over the procedure at the first sign of difficulty, thereby denying the student the instructional benefit of performing a complete spinal and/or epidural anesthesia administration.
There is currently no adequate instructional aid that allows the student to practice epidural and combined spinal epidural anesthesia administration prior to performing such procedures on human patients. Thus, there is a need for an epidural and combined spinal epidural anesthesia administration instructional aid that simulates the experience and “feel” of inserting the epidural needle (with the feel of loss of resistance), spinal needle, and epidural catheter in the soft tissue of a patient such that the needles and catheter are appropriately positioned for cerebrospinal fluid flow and anesthesia administration.